The Bixslade valley is packed with the industrial history of the Forest, including mines, quarries, tramways, disused mine shafts and adits and a monument to a mining disaster. The valley still houses a working mine, worked by Freeminers.
The original plan for this project was to create a Geocache adventure trail telling the story of the industrial heritage and Freeminers.
There are some walk leaflets available locally that explore the Bixslade valley and now that our ‘Geology of the Forest’ project team are developing a new ‘Geo Heritage’ App, including a route through the Bixslade valley, we no longer see the need for a Geocache trail.
We are exploring ways in which to share information about the Freeminers story, including details about the sites relating to the various mines, tramways, monuments and quarries to weave a story that will depict the industrial heritage and the life that was once common in the Dean.
This will help bring the Freeminers' traditional practices to life and encourage people to find out more, linking to 'The Future of Freemining' project and the Hopewell colliery underground tour.
We will continue to keep this page updated with the latest progress for this project. For more about our Geo Heritage App see Geology of our Forest.
You might be surprised what you find!
From creating habitats for our wildlife or improving our waterways, to recording oral histories or finding old photos, there’s always something going on to get involved in!